Ear Candling Conference

November 18 - 19, 2006

The first-ever Ear Candling Conference took place in Reepham near Norwich. The humble, and much vilified, little candle has managed to pull speakers from Switzerland, Canada, United States of America and Belgium together in one place, prepared to share their thoughts and research data with the world.

Ear candling is no longer regarded as an "ear cleansing" tool as it has become very obvious that there is no suction element to the candle's function, nor is there a heating up of the ear canal. Ear candling is a simple, but extremely effective, energetic tool to influence health in a positive way. The noted effects stretch over millennia and across the whole world, covering most great cultures this small planet has ever known.

Jili Hamilton, the author of the first book ever written about ear candling, told the delegates how her path in life was totally changed by ear candling. She recounted many fascinating stories surrounding ear candling that she has come across in her search for more information. She also led us through the difficulties that someone encounters who is writing a book about a subject no one knows anything about.

M Harmony PhD shared her search result looking into verifiable ear candling data. She researched what constitutes a safe and healthy candle as well as the origins of ear candling and the ancient practices that have lead to ear candling. She caused controversy when she stated that the Hopi Native American tribe has been stunned by the revelation that they were supposed to have lent their name to the most famous ear candle in the world. Michelle said she had spent a lot of time with the Hopi's to find out that the Hopis have never used ear candles and have never heard of it.

Greg Webb is a Touch for Health tutor and examiner in his homeland Canada and combined with his passion for ear candling he has collated an incredible amount of data regarding the specific effects and pathways in which the body responds to ear candling. He showed how not only the lymphatic drainage improves, but also how the immune system is strengthened, the endocrine system enhanced, and the central nervous system is empowered. He shared his thoughts on how the energetic input is transferred via the chakra system, the meridian and the nervous system into the physical aspects of life.

Patrick Quanten concentrated on explaining in simple terms some relevant facts of quantum physics and new biology. All matter is energy condensed and all cells "listen" to everything that is going on in their environment. The combination of these allow the energetic influence of ear candling to be felt throughout the whole body, both via a direct influence on the cells and via the overall information distributed through the nervous network. He also showed that in free burning open candles only white smoke appeared at the bottom of the candle. The matter found inside the candles after burning only occurs by compressing the smoke. He suggested a relationship between what was found inside the burned candle and the changes made in the auric field of the person being candled.

Plenty of questions are still left open. Opinions still differ, but the delegates have agreed to continue to gather data and to share their knowledge and experience. To this effect it was suggested to set up a separate website dedicated to verifiable information on ear candling and a place where people could share their questions and experiences with each other. It was generally felt that the time has come to tell the truth about ear candling and to ensure that it becomes a safe and self-regulated therapy with therapists who uphold serious professional values.

Ear candling is a process which has been around for hundreds of years, but has primarily, been either forgotten or replaced by the wonders of modern medical science. According to some sources, the Egyptians used reeds, packing a bit of mud around the ears to from a seal. This process was also used in India, Tibet, China, the Mayan, Aztec and American Indian Cultures. Ear candles or cleansing cones as they were referred to in ancient times are a centuries old universal form of therapy, used by nations around the globe. Some form of ear coning or herbal therapy using fire and smoke, has been used to cleanse and/or create a movement of energy for healing by many cultures for thousands of years.

Fortunately, with the tremendous resurgence in popularity in alternative medicine modalities such as herbology, iridology, naturopathy, massage, to name a few, ear candling has also experienced a rediscovery as a very helpful treatment technique for many health problems related to the ear and sinus area of the body.

Common ear wax build up muffles hearing for many people. Yeast. allergies or just wax, removed from the ear canal regularly often helps restore hearing, will relieve tension or pressure in the ear and sometimes relieve other symptoms not consciously connected with the ear condition. Removal of wax allows better hearing, usually immediately. Candida can cause a mould allergy which in turn causes itching inside the ear. Parasites can cause many problems if allowed to grow in the ear. “Swimmers ear” is quite often caused by growth of materials in the ear plus ear wax which stops the clearing of water from the ear.

One of the wonderful things about the ear candling process is that with a bit of basic training and instruction, it can be done at home. In this age where so many of us are taking an active role in maintaining our own health and becoming less reliant upon the medical system, ear candling provides a marvellous, safe tool for us to have at our disposal. Simply lying someone down on their side, sticking a hollow candle in their ear and lighting it; what can be simpler than that. Some easy safety measures can be put into place to protect from the open flame, and there you go!

How does Ear candling fit into Ayurveda?

At a time when Modern Medicine is failing to deliver on its promises about cures that are just around the corner, the interest in ancient knowledge is blooming. A 5000 year old philosophical and medical system such as Ayurveda, which not only has survived time and industrialisation but is experiencing a massive revival, is pushing it’s way to the forefront of science once again to provide answers and pose pertinent questions about Life.

Edward Tarabilda, who is a director of the Institute for Wholistic Education in Wisconsin, has proven in his book Ayurveda Revolutionized that all diseases can be described by three pairs of qualities:

Hot – Cold

Heavy – Light

Oily – Dry

These qualities are the main ones which are used in Ayurveda to describe everything from the weather, to your constitution, to every influence on life. Simplifying that system we can categorise all diseases into the following groups: the diseases of Heat, Coldness, Heaviness, Lightness, Oiliness, Dryness or a mixture. Each disease has a set of symptoms, which occur as a result of the influence of the offending quality. This way of looking at the ancient knowledge focuses our mind on qualities of disease, rather than qualities of constitution.

Today’s scientific research in nutrition categorises people into various types, a process called “Metabolic Profiling”. According to this system, people fall into three profiles:

Individuals who need more protein and fat in comparison to carbohydrates;

Individuals who need more carbohydrates in comparison to protein and fat;

Individuals who are more mixed and need an equal balance between protein and fat on the one side and carbohydrates on the other.

There is no “suction” effect inside the candle.

There is black smoke coming out of the top of the candle and white smoke pushing down into the candle.

There is no heat or warmth at the bottom of the candle.

The contents of the burned candle (white powder and wax) vary greatly; the same substances are found inside the candle when it is burned standing by itself in the room.

Put in terms of the ancient Ayurveda, the first group of individuals are more catabolic in nature (heat, lightness and dryness), the second are more anabolic in nature (coldness, heaviness and oiliness) and the third group are of mixed type. The comparisons between the two models is quite striking.

In Ayurveda the treatment used for the anabolic group (cold, heavy, oily) is mainly heat. This is used in various forms such as foods, drinks, herbs, essential oils, application of external heat, etc. By introducing heat into the system coldness is turned into heat; heaviness into lightness; and oiliness into dryness.

Earcandling is exactly that: it introduces heat directly into the system, only on a subtle level. It burns in the person’s aura and thus adds heat to the energetic body of the person concerned.

How does the candle really work?

Through simple observation during the burning of the ear candle and careful examination of the contents of the candle afterwards, we can easily conclude:

So, the candle does not draw out ear wax or lymphatic (or any other) fluid. In fact, the candle does not draw out anything; it puts something into the candle! What we are seeing inside the candle at the end of the burning is a manifestation; a physical result from adding heat to the aura of a person, or to the atmosphere of a room for that matter.

Ayurveda teaches us that all is energy and matter is a gross manifestation of energy. Nothing exists without it having some form of energy; without energy, no physical matter can be present. All real healing happens on an energy level. Our body is only the manifestation of an energy being.

And now the ear candle shows us in a simple way that things are created out of nothing!

How to explain the ear candle’s products?

We observe three elements as a direct result from burning the candle: white powder, “wax”, and black smoke.

The black smoke comes out of the top of the candle and swirls straight up into the air, because it is light. In the bottom of the candle we find white, dry powder and “wax”, which is a misinterpretation. Due to the fact it appears to come out of an ear the association was made with ear wax. It has nothing to do with that and it is in fact simple fat.

What do these three elements materialised out of “air” tell us?

When we add heat to Heaviness, we produce Lightness. When we add heat to the energetic body it will materialise Lightness, i.e. the black smoke. As a result, the heaviness of the person will be lightened.

When we add heat to Oiliness, we produce Dryness. When we add heat to the energetic body it will materialise Dryness, i.e. the white powder. As a result, the oiliness of the person will become drier.

When we add heat to Coldness, we produce Heat. When we add heat to the energetic body it will produce heat/energy in the physical body. Energy is stored in our body in the form of fat, i.e. the “wax”.

If ear candling has a major positive effect on the Diseases of Heaviness, Oiliness and Coldness, then we do need to be able to verify this in our symptomatological picture.

The Disease of Heaviness

This disease is characterised by the clogging up of channels and organs. We find a lot of sticky mucus in the respiratory system and the stomach; a slow digestion; a slow mental state (depression); sluggish circulation and energy levels.

The Disease of Oiliness

Bad, slow circulation resulting in heavy loaded, undernourished muscles; overloaded joints becoming arthritic; both contributing to headaches, muscular spasm and jaw contractions, a heaviness in the head and neck. We notice a tendency to profuse sweating, itching; aching eyes; asthma.

The Disease of Coldness

Acute fevers which promote the release of cold and phlegm from the system, headache, “stiffness” of the tongue, sudden hoarseness, tinnitus, common colds, tonsillitis, pleurisy, and vertigo. Weak immune system; aching, tired feeling in the eyes; headaches.

This list of symptoms contains most of the complaints people want ear candling for. These are also the people who benefit greatly and in a dramatic fashion from ear candling. By adding heat to their energetic body we lower the burden of the heaviness and oiliness, and we add energy to it by warming the system up.

The three pairs of qualities, which describe our surroundings, our moods, our physical being, are always there in a variety of balances. When we are overloaded with one or more of these qualities we suffer the consequences in a material form as well as in a more subtle (energetic) way. Treating these imbalances on an energetic level is far more effective and far reaching than simply dealing with the physical manifestation of the imbalance. This makes ear candling not only a safe, but certainly an extremely effective treatment. When changes to lifestyle are added to it, we find that the balance of Life suddenly has shifted dramatically in favour of Health.

Patrick Quanten has been a general practitioner since 1983. The combination of medical insight and extensive studies of Complementary Therapies have opened new perspectives on health care, all of which came to fruition when it blended with Yogic and Ayurvedic principles. Patrick gave up his medical licence in November 2001.Patrick also holds qualifications in Ayurvedic Medicine, Homeopathy, Reiki, Ozon Therapy and Thai Massage. He is an expert on Ear Candling and he is also well-read in the field of other hard sciences. His life's work involves finding similarities between the Ancient Knowledge and modern Western science.